Star hopping is the art of looking up in the night sky … and knowing what you are looking at. It is about knowing where to find an object by recognizing a few bright stars and understanding how they are positioned relative to one another, and how to use those anchor points to hop from star to star to find the object of your interest.

A lot of telescopes have a go-to option. That allows for a computer, a mobile phone, or a handheld device to tell your telescope where to go. But if you do not have that luxury, or you are just gazing up with your eyes or through binoculars, you need to learn how to navigate the stars!

Getting started

So how do you get started? Learn first how to find some of the brightest stars or some of the best know constellations. And then use these to hop from star to star to where you want to go. I live in the Northern Hemisphere and will share how I learned to navigate my night sky and share the maps I use.

The Big Dipper (aka the Plough) and Cassiopeia are the easiest, best known, and most recognizable constellations to start with. Additionally, they are always visible in the Northern Hemisphere. They are a great starting point for star hopping if you can locate them.

Furthermore, in the summer, the Summer Triangle of the 3 brightest stars in the night sky in the Northern Hemisphere also a great way to get started.